The interim federal government has said that it has entered into talks with international online payment companies – Paypal and Stripe – to start their operations in Pakistan, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.

Interim Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Dr Umar Saif said that the government is in talks with both PayPal and Stripe regarding offering services in the country.

Talking to media persons in Islamabad, Umar Saif said that it is important to bring PayPal to Pakistan to facilitate the freelancers and the people who are involved in international transaction.

The minister said that the government intends to convince PayPal to provide service through a third party in Pakistan on similar lines to Egypt where PayPal offers its services through a third party.

Saif said that the ministry has requested PayPal to allow Pakistani freelancers to bring money to Pakistan through a one-way service. He said that talks will get underway with PayPal in this regard in a week’s time.

The minister also highlighted that talks with Stripe, another payment processing platform, are also underway. The talks with Stripe are being carried out by the Pakistani embassy in Singapore.

Saif said that if Stripe starts its services in Pakistan it will benefit the e-commerce industry and will also help Pakistani content creators to monetize their content.

He said that talks with both companies will conclude in around two months and expressed the hope that the outcome will be positive since Pakistan has a strong business case for both companies.

Reporter Tayyab Saif